In the Absence of Light
by SoundsLikeLiar
Summary: When the Clans leave the forest, Princess is shocked. Soon, she gives birth to another son, and she is forced to leave him with Frostfur and the other elders. But Sunkit is destined for a greatness no cat could predict. [Full summary inside, R&R]
1. Summary and Cats Outside of Clans

**In the Absence of Light **

_After the Clans leave their old homes in the forest behind, Princess, Firestar's sister, is devastated. No cat told her ThunderClan was leaving for good. When Princess becomes pregnant again and gives birth to a single kit, she knows she must find a home for him outside her Twoleg nest. Venturing into the forest, she stumbles upon Frostfur and the other elders who elected to stay behind. Princess leaves her kit of four moons with them, hoping he'll keep Firestar's memory alive in the crumbling remains of the forest. Agreeing to take care of the kit as long as they can, the elders pass on their knowledge and skills to the little tom. When the final portion of forest is destroyed, Princess's kit is sent to live with Ravenpaw and Barley. But what no cat realizes is that Princess's tom is capable of building up the Clans again, bigger and stronger than before. The time of rebirth has come to the forest of old, and Firestar's kin will play the greatest role in it._

Cats Outside of Clans:

**Princess**- light brown tabby she-cat with white paws and blue eyes, kittypet

**Ravenpaw**- small black tom with a white dash on his chest, a white tipped tail and green eyes, loner who lives with Barley 

**Barley**- stout black and white tom, loner who lives with Ravenpaw

**Loudbelly**- dark brown tom, formally of RiverClan

**Shadepelt**- very dark gray she-cat, formally of RiverClan

**Frostfur**- once-beautiful white she-cat with dark blue eyes, formally of ThunderClan

**Speckletail**- pale tabby she-cat with light brown spots, formally of ThunderClan

**Sunkit/Sunpaw**- golden-brown tabby tom with green eyes, formally lived as a kittypet

**Batty**- smoky black tom with blue eyes, loner

**Sasha**- golden tabby she-cat, rogue

**Cody**- tabby she-cat with blue eyes, kittypet

**Coal**- tattered old black tom with ripped ears, rogue

**Orchid**- white she-cat with ginger splotches, former loner

**Flame- **dark ginger she-cat with white paws and tail, rogue

**Silvery- **light gray she-cat with amber eyes

**Spots**- young brown and white tom

**_I wanted to write this because I was so indignant when Firestar left the forest without telling Princess. She must have been so freaked out. And that got me thinking: what if she had another son? What if he could revive or create another Clan? This is his story. Enjoy learning about Sunpaw. This story will not officially start until November 23, 2007 so keep your eyes peeled!_**


	2. Prologue: Disappearing

**A.N. Sorry I didn't publish this yesterday like I said I would; I was crazy busy. But here it is, the debut of _In the Absence of Light_! Yay! Enjoy and don't forget to leave reviews. **

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**Prologue: _Disappearing_ **

Princess pulled herself out of the cat flap, her sore belly scraping painfully against the hard doorframe. She quickly moved her bushy tail out of the way so the plastic door couldn't snap shut on it. Blinking blearily in the bright morning light, Princess shivered and fluffed up her tabby fur against the brisk winter wind blowing through the garden. The plants that were usually in bloom were dead, their leaves drooping and their branches cracked and brittle. The land was gray and tired-looking. It seemed dead. Princess was glad she had decided to leave her kit inside. It was too cold for him to venture out now anyway.

Bounding across the frostbitten brown grass, Princess winced as she felt her still-tender muscles twinge in pain. She had kitted more than two moons ago but her body was still recovering from the rough birth. She sighed heavily.

_I must be getting too old, _she thought sadly, _that was so painful and I only had one kit in the whole litter. Isn't that supposed to be bad luck?_

Lost in her thoughts, Princess distractedly scrambled to the top of the fence surrounding her garden; enjoying the first taste of freedom she'd had in moons, despite the coldness of the air around her. She had been stuck inside since the beginning of fall, when she'd first noticed she was pregnant again. Princess hadn't seen Firestar or Cloudtail for weeks and weeks. Today, she was planning on braving the bitter winter winds to find her brother and son and tell them of her latest news.

But when she looked over her fence and into the forest, her jaw dropped at the horrific sight that met her tired, worried eyes. Her worst nightmare had come true. The forest was gone.

xxx

Princess pulled her fur out of the thorn bush and stumbled on. Her paws were caked with dirty, week-old snow. Her ears were numb with cold and her tail stuck out straight in the air above her head like a catkin. Her whiskers were trembling with fear as she gazed around the ripped and torn forest. Roots were strewn about the rock-hard soil and there were no signs of life anywhere. No mice, no birds, no squirrels. No cats.

"_Firestar! Cloudtail!_ CLOUDTAIL?" Princess cried out, her voice hoarse and high-pitched with terror, "Where are you? Firestar?"

She inhaled deeply, hoping to catch a waft of her brother's scent but all she could smell was housefolk and exhaust from cars. She felt a knot winding up in her stomach and for a moment, she thought she was going to retch. Then the feeling passed and Princess moved on, ignoring the pain that shot through her foot when she stepped on a sharp, chopped up rock. Tripping and moving unsteadily, Princess finally found herself next to a frozen river lined with dead reeds. Glancing across the icy tomb of water, Princess felt her spirits rise. She could see a small island in the middle of the river, easily visible through the lack of trees and cover in between the riverbank and the patch of land floating on the frozen water surface.

The island, unlike the rest of the forest, seemed to be untouched. The trees there were still standing, albeit looking worn out and dead. And Princess could smell the faintest trace of mouse. Could her brother and son be camping out on the island? It looked like it was the last refuge on ThunderClan territory. Maybe they had retreated there after the forest was destroyed. Which led Princess to think; what ruined the forest anyway? But then she remembered the smell of the humans and their machines and she suddenly recalled one time when she was locked up inside her home. She had heard a bone-rattling crash and the sound of heavy rumbling, as if a huge car had ran over a house. Her housefolk had dashed out of the house and returned looking distressed and concerned. Princess knew snatches of housefolk language and she managed to make out the words "gone", "new homes" and "forest". It made sense now. The humans were behind this. They must have done something terrible to the forest cats so they could build more homes for housefolk!

_What if they're dead?_ Princess though, panicking as she stared at the ice, _what will I do if I never see Cloudtail or my brother again? _

Princess found herself growing hysterical, her tail lashing and her face twisted up in horror and fright. She crouched low to the frigid ground, pressing her face against the ragged earth, trying to slow her unsteady breathing. But she couldn't comfort herself. Firestar and the others couldn't have survived. They couldn't have.

"Hey! Hey you! Are you okay?" a raspy voice called, shooting through Princess's mind like a lightening bolt.

She picked her head up, immediately alert. Her eyes wide and sticky with pain, she stared amazed, at a thin scraggly black tom. His ear was torn and Princess could count his ribs through his patchy fur. He was the first cat she'd seen in the remains of the forest. She began to back up, remembering that there were other cats that had lived in the forest besides ThunderClan.

"No, wait, don't be scared," the black tom said quickly. His voice sounded rough and scratchy, like it hadn't been used in a while. "My name is Coal. I'm not a threat to you."

Princess peered at him suspiciously. He didn't have a Clan name, but maybe he knew where they had gone. Taking a deep breath, Princess approached the frozen river. She knew talking to an unfamiliar rogue was dangerous but she had no choice. She needed to find out what had happened to her kin. An image of Firestar flashed before her eyes, his thick ginger pelt glimmering, Cloudtail's pale white coat next to him. Both were looking at her with sad smiles etched in their eyes. Princess held back a wail of despair.

"My name is Princess," she choked out, not meeting the rogue's eyes.

Coal hesitantly approached her, sniffing the air around her with wary caution. He stepped back and seemed to be satisfied because his gaze softened a little. Princess noticed that his paws were covered with shards of ice and flecks of snow. Even though he couldn't be much older than Princess, Coal looked like he was ready to keel over and die.

"Why don't you find a home with some nice housefolk?" Princess suggested attentively, eyeing Coal's ribs and protruding bones. "You'd just have to clean yourself up a little and meow by their doors."

"No way," Coal snarled, "I'm no kittypet. I would _never_ go to the Twolegs for help. They destroyed my home and killed my sister!"

Princess took a few steps back, her eyes wide with fear. What if he attacked her? She couldn't fight. What would she do? Suddenly her paws flew out from under her as she tripped over a tangled root. Princess lost her balance on the gently sloping riverbank and found herself hurtling down the bank, right on to the dark ice frozen over the river. She landed hard, her breath shooting out of her. She lay winded on the thick layer of ice over the water, struggling to catch her breath and stand up. Her paw was aching even more now. She wondered if she'd broken it. She heard the sound of claws against ice and twisted her head around to see Coal sliding across the frozen water towards her. Princess jumped to her feet and promptly fell back down on her belly, her chin hitting the ice with a sharp bang.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Coal said grumpily, skidding to a stop next to Princess. He bent down and heaved her upwards, her fur clamped in his teeth. "I didn't mean to freak you out. I just meant that going to the Twolegs is not an option."

"Fine, that's your choice. Now let me go," Princess cried, trying to run towards the shore.

"Just let me help you," Coal offered, looking guiltily at Princess. He seemed to feel bad about the fact that he'd scared her. Princess shakily stood on the ice, her whiskers trembling in despair. She thought of Cloudtail and Firestar again and glanced over at the sparse island. What if they were there? This rogue wanted to help her and she was in no position to turn down help, especially if she wanted to find out what happened to her family.

"Have you seen a big ginger tom with green eyes?" Princess asked Coal quickly. "Or a white tom with long bushy fur? They lived in this forest. They would have had strange names, like Firestar and Cloudtail. Do you know what happened to them?"

Coal stared at Princess quizzically. It seemed to her like a glimmer of interest was growing in his eyes. The rogue nodded back towards the forest behind them as they stood precariously on the hard cold ice.

"There used to be cats living all over this forest," he said, "but then the Twolegs came with their monsters and they tore up the forest."

"What happened to the cats?" Princess asked quickly, her voice rising. She racked her brains, thinking of the names of any other cats Firestar had introduced to her. But their names were lost in the back of her memory. She sniffled helplessly.

"I think I can help you," Coal said to Princess, causing her to jerk her head up and stare at him with huge hopeful eyes. "I've been living on that island over there. It's the only place the Twolegs haven't destroyed. I'm staying there with a few other cats. And they have the same kind of weird names that you seem to be talking about. They call themselves Clan cats."

"That's them!" Princess shrieked, her tail waving excitedly. Was Firestar and Cloudtail really still alive? Did they wait for her? She wanted to charge over there right now and see for herself.

"I can take you to them," Coal said, "if you want to."

"Yes please," Princess breathed, her eyes watering with happiness.

"Are you sure you can make it?" he asked, looking at her with a small sniff of distain, "You _are _a kittypet after all."

"Please," Princess pleaded, "just take me there."

xxx

Coal led Princess into the cramped clearing in the center of the island. The wind whistled through the dead branches of the trees eerily and the midday sun cast cold shadows weakly against the snowy ground. Princess lifted her head into the air and searched for Firestar's scent. She couldn't smell anything but the harsh frozen water surrounding the island. Coal flicked his tail at her, indicating that she should stay where she was. Princess held back, her claws silently unsheathing themselves. What if she had walked right into a trap? Could she really trust Coal? After all, she couldn't smell any other cats.

Princess knew she couldn't fight. She was tired and cold and didn't know the first thing about defending herself. But she had a kit at home. She couldn't just abandon him. If Coal decided to attack her, she would have to try and escape, for her kit's sake.

Coal padded towards a squat prickly bush and ducked his head under it. Princess could hear him meowing something to whoever was underneath. Again, Princess smelled the air. But again, all she could smell was the faint scent of mouse. Coal backed out of the bush and then hurried over to a fallen tree that was propped up against a huge boulder, creating a small, enclosed den. He stuck his head inside the den and yowled something to its inhabitants. A scuffling noise broke out from inside and Coal took a few steps back, allowing four elderly cats to quickly trot out of the den, their eyes alight with interest.

Princess looked at them uneasily. There were only four of them but they all looked much more fearsome than Coal. They had dirty matted pelts and unsheathed claws that glinted in the sunlight. Their eyes were intelligent and bright and when they saw Princess they parted their jaws to taste her scent.

One of the cats, a tired, thin-looking white she-cat, approached Princess with a wary curiosity. When she noticed Princess's blue collar, the white cat's fur relaxed on her shoulders and her eyes glittered.

"A kittypet," the white she-cat remarked, "what are you doing out here?"

"Coal said he was living with Clan cats," Princess rushed, feeling incredibly vulnerable and trapped, "I'm looking for my son. Is he here? Is Cloudtail here? What about Firestar?"

The white she-cat gasped loudly and turned to shoot a look at a pale speckled tabby. Then she faced Princess again and stared at her with open amazement.

"_You're_ Firestar's sister?" she asked.

Princess nodded. This she-cat seemed to know her brother. But where was he? Princess twitched her ear nervously. "Where is he? Do you know Cloudtail?"

The white she-cat sighed, all traces of hostility gone now. She sat down on the cold earth and curled her tail around her paws. "My name is Frostfur," she said slowly, "I used to belong to ThunderClan. I'll tell you everything."

xxx

Princess didn't know what to think. Why had he left without telling her? Didn't he think about what she would say? What she would do? How worried she'd be? At least she knew that her son and brother were alive. She wouldn't have wanted them to stay and be killed. She sighed sadly. Princess was trying to come to terms with the fact that she'd never see Firestar or Cloudtail ever again.

"The Twolegs stopped their work on the forest when leaf-bare arrived," Frostfur said to Princess. The four elderly cats and Princess were crouched inside the fallen tree den. Coal had vanished under the prickly bush to be with his mate, according to Frostfur. "We don't know why but Speckletail assumes that they don't like snow anymore than we do."

"How long has Firestar been gone for?" Princess asked.

"A few moons I think," Frostfur murmured, "time moves slowly when you're living each day like you're going to die."

"But why didn't you go with them?" Princess questioned, gazing at the dark gray she-cat who lay coughing in the corner. "Firestar said that the Clans take care of all the cats."

"They do," Speckletail snapped, "we volunteered to stay behind. We're too old to travel that far."

Princess winced at the older cat's harsh tones and pressed herself lower into the ground. She couldn't understand why these cats didn't leave, or at least get a home with nice housefolk and a roaring fire. How could they stand this?

"You should go," Frostfur said coolly, "I've told you where you're family has gone. You have no reason to stay here any longer, unless you want to get sick. You're too soft to stay out here in the wild for this long anyway."

Princess, while slightly offended, knew Frostfur was right. She got to her paws unsteadily, reeling from all the information the she-cat had just told her. Then an idea sparked into Princess's head.

"I have a son," she said, "he's four moons old. He is probably the last kit I'll ever be able to have." Princess's voice tightened. "Usually when kittypets get to be my age, their housefolk take them to the vet. I won't be able to have kits anymore."

A look of fury and pity flashed across Frostfur's face as she listened to Princess. Her companion, Speckletail, looked impatiently at Princess but Frostfur didn't send the kittypet away yet.

"My housefolk will be finding a home for him soon," Princess said carefully, "and I don't want that to happen. Once before, I gave my son to ThunderClan. I want to do that again. I want my kit to grow up in this forest. I want him to keep my family's memory alive. Will you take care of him?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Speckletail screeched, "He'll die in two days time! And what makes you think we can take in another mouth to feed? There's nothing left of this forest, you stupid furball. We can't take your son!"

Princess backed up against the boulder in fear but Frostfur waved her tail at Speckletail, silencing her. The white she-cat was obviously the most respected cat in the group of worn-out elders. Princess looked at her appraisingly. Frostfur wasn't that old. She was still very pretty and her muscles were tight beneath her pelt. She was thin and hungry but she had a gleam of compassion in her eye. Princess decided that Frostfur would be the perfect cat to mother her son. At that thought, her throat tightened and she closed her eyes briefly, realizing what she was giving up.

"Calm down, Speckletail," Frostfur said softly, "Loudbelly, Shadepelt, what do you think of Princess's offer?"

"You can't actually be considering this?" Speckletail asked incredously.

"We do need someone who can hunt and take care of us," Loudbelly coughed, "a strong young cat who we could train to follow the code would be good for us. It'd give us something to do to get through the long season of leaf-bare."

"But what about food?" asked Shadepelt, who was the skinniest of all the cats.

"Coal and Silvery are good at finding food for us to eat," Frostfur admitted, "and a young tom would have the potential to be a good hunter."

"Please! Coal and Silvery bring back crowfood!" Speckletail spat.

"I didn't hear you complaining when you dug into that rabbit carcass," Loudbelly snapped back at the old she-cat.

"Take him, please," Princess begged, "he's got a life with you. He'll learn to be a Clan cat like Firestar. He's strong, I know he'll survive the season. My housefolk took him to the vet already. He's got shots to protect him from sickness. Please, take care of him for me. I trust you."

Frostfur looked straight at Princess, taking in her pleading eyes and pained expression. Princess's heart was thumping painfully against her chest and her breath was coming out short and fast.

"If we take him," Frostfur said to Princess quietly, "there's no guarantee he'll survive. But if what you say is true, then he might be able to make it through leaf-bare. We can train him under the warrior code and take care of him until new-leaf. But when the world grows warm again, the Twolegs and their monsters will come back and probably destroy this island too."

Princess shook her head. "I don't think so," she said.

The four cats looked at her with surprise, and even Shadepelt lifted her gray head off the ground long enough to stare at Princess. Frostfur flicked her tail at Princess, allowing her to continue explaining.

"This island is very close to a housefolk structure," she said, having glimpsed the house through the dying and dead trees, "the housefolk won't want construction going on so close to their home. They'll try and stop the other humans from destroying land around here for a while. This island should remain safe for another season or two. But then, you should find another place to go. This place won't be safe forever."

"Don't tell us where to live!" hissed Speckletail.

"We shall remain here until the Twolegs destroy it," Frostfur said, hushing Speckletail, "but I cannot promise you that we will be able to move safely. Your son may die."

"Does that mean you'll take him?" Princess asked.

"Yes." Frostfur shot Speckletail a look and the pale tabby closed her mouth, about to protest. "But remember, I can't promise you he'll survive."

"Oh he'll live," Princess said, an uncharacteristically determined look appearing in her eyes, "he's got Firestar's blood running through his veins. Just promise me you'll keep him safe."

Frostfur looked at Princess. She seemed unwillingly impressed by Princess's burst of energy and she draped her tail on the housecat's back.

"I will keep him safe," Frostfur vowed, "as long as my heart is beating."

"Thank you," whispered Princess.

The two she-cats locked eyes and an understanding passed between them. Princess was satisfied that Frostfur would keep her promise. She knew her last son would be in good paws.

"I just have one request," Princess murmured.

"What is it?"

"I want him to be named Sunkit."

Frostfur's eyes sparkled for a moment and she touched her nose to Princess's gently, making the housecat's heart swell with gratitude.

"Sunkit will be safe with me," she whispered in Princess's ear.

Princess drew back, unable to express her emotions to Frostfur and the other ancient cats that stood around her like noble stones in a field. Her eyes swam with hope as she glanced at the now-setting sun.

"I know," she said, "I know."


End file.
